Published on : Monday, March 4, 2019
The event called “Spring Golden Eagle Festival” was co-organized by the Mongolian Ministry of Environment and Tourism, the Mongolian Eagle Hunter’s Association and others to target boosting up tourism by endorsing the tradition of hunting with eagles.
“The festival is part of our efforts to attract more domestic and foreign tourists. I am very happy that the number of domestic and foreign tourists visiting the festival has been increasing year after year,” Tsegmid Tsengel, state secretary at the Mongolian Ministry of Environment and Tourism, said at the opening ceremony of the festival.
Around 20 eagle hunters aged 18-77 from Bayan-Ulgii Province are competing the 12th edition of the two-day festival, to catch fake animals, like foxes and hares, with specially trained golden eagles, showing off the skills of both the birds and their trainers.
To test the eagles’ skills, previously, the competition used live animals. However, at the request of animal rights activists, in recent years, fake animals were used instead, as per the organizers.
Also, eagle hunters will compete in calling their eagles at the top of the mountain, and the fastest to identify its owner and sit on the forearm of the owner, will be declared the winner.
Eagle hunting is a tradition on the Eurasian Steppe. Mongolia is said to be one of a few countries that keeps the thousand-year-old tradition alive.
Twice a year, the Golden Eagle Festival is organized in spring and autumn in Mongolia. The autumn festival is arranged in Bayan-Ulgii Province.
Tags: Mongolian tourism